Our First Home

For the past 3 1/2 years, we have lived and breathed community. Here in YWAM, our life is community. We eat together, work together, and share an 8×8 ft container with another person.

For the first time in our entire missions experience, we are now officially living outside the community that we have known for so long.

Two weeks ago, we arrived back to Costa Rica….. but this time married.

It was a bit of a surprise, but we came home to our YWAM base, and it was too full for us to live at. So for our first week of living here, we stayed with local friends. Thank you God for all the generous people who opened their homes for us, gave us a bed to sleep on, and put a roof over our heads. Without them, the transition would have been much more difficult!

Now back in Costa Rica as a married couple, we really felt like getting our own place was a priority (and considering the circumstances, a VERY urgent one). We had prayed and really felt the Lord leading us to have a private place, where we could have the space to begin to build a foundation for our marriage. Our heart was to find a place where we could go at the end of the day for rest and refreshment, as well as one where we could invite others in to a homey place of blessing and comfort.

That being said, we really felt the best thing for our marriage was a safe place.

So we began the search.

We had prayed and felt these 3 things;

1) It needs to fit into our budget

2) It must be within walking distance from the base

3) It should have more than 1 room in order to have people over

Since we don’t have a car we searched and searched by foot, for 2 days. With no avail, we had spent literally hours walking miles upon miles around the local neighborhoods, looking for the perfect home for us to begin our married life together.

On the second day of our search, we passed by a black gate right out-front of the YWAM base. I (Ryan) saw a “For Rent” sign. I really didn’t think much of it, considering we had passed by that gate so many times, and had never seen any apartments on that property.

Nonetheless, we gave them a call, and they told us to come and check it out. So that day around 1:00 PM we went to look at this apartment. We entered through the front gate, and nestled at the end of this driveway, in a bundle of trees and green plants, is a second story yellow apartment. From the moment we walked into this place, we knew. It was perfect! It was everything we had hoped for and more.

Take a look at the photos, and hear the rest of the story below…

The Kitchen

(Hopefully everything created here will please, nourish, and spark good conversation)

The Living Room

(Hopefully soon with a couch and coffee table, this place will be the host of intense game nights and fun fellowship)

The Laundry Room

(Where dirty clothes become clean.)

Room #3 – Prayer Room.

(We want this room to be a place of worship, art, and creative expression. Help us make it into a place that fosters an environment to connect with the Holy Spirit!)

Room #2 – Guest Bedroom

(Our hope is to buy a bed and make it a place for out of town guests to stay, or people who are just needing a quiet night alone)

Room #1 – Our Bedroom!

(At this point we are sleeping on a borrowed air-mattress and hope to have a real mattress to sleep on soon!)

Front Door

(May all who enter be blessed by love, peace and rest)

This place is almost right out front of the YWAM base, about a 2 minute walk.

It is right in our budget, and one of the cheapest places we could find.

It has 3 rooms!

We could not believe our eyes, how could we have been so close and not had seen it? It was cheaper than any 1 bedroom we had found in the area. God’s favor truly was upon us.

The thing I love most about it is the colors. Every single room is a different color, from bright yellow, to red, to baby blue. It has 7 different types of tile/flooring. It truly is a latino home, and has a lot of flavor.

Our dream and vision for this home is not just for us, but to be used as a place of ministry for others. Our hope and dream for this home is for it to be a place of refuge for missionaries. Working full time and living on the base can take its toll on you, and sometimes the best remedy is to just be in a normal home. We can remember so recently being single and living on the base, and how exciting it was to get invited over to someone’s home. The smell of a kitchen, the warmth of sitting on a couch, and just being in a home.

Our hope is that this can be a place for them. For the full time missionaries living on the base, who just need to breathe, be alone, and feel rejuvenated and poured into… whether that be through alone time in the prayer room, a conversation over cookies and tea, or a home-cooked meal in their bellies.

We didn’t want a 3 bedroom home for ourselves, but primarily to make our home a place of refuge and ministry.

One of the hardest parts about moving into an apartment in Costa Rica is that they do not come furnished. That means no stove, refrigerator, washer, or dryer. So we have to provide all of that for ourselves. The cool part is that we know God has called us to be here, and desires to use this home to bless others. So we are stepping out in faith and believing that He is going to provide for us to furnish and make our home a comfortable place to be.

We have uploaded these pictures to introduce you to our new home, and invite you to be a part of making this home into what we believe God wants it to be!

To make this dream a reality, we need a team effort. Costa Rica has higher prices than the States for any type of furniture or kitchen appliances, and we are trying our best to find used stuff. God has opened up an amazing opportunity to purchase some used household appliances from a missionary family that is moving back to the States very soon. By buying stuff from them we get better prices as well as get to help provide them with some finances as they transition back home.

If you would like to be a part of furnishing our apartment, we are asking for 40 people to give one-time gift of $50 (total of $2,000). If you cannot make that contribution, we still invite you to give, because EVERYTHING helps. You can give through Paypal by using our email address: themacklemission@gmail.com, or simply click here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=J5H3EGQPDE45N

If you would like to become a permanent part of our support team so that we can continue in missions in Costa Rica, you can sign up to give monthly with tax deductible donations by clicking the following link, selecting “Recurring Gift” and entering our acct #: A9070. https://www.meigiving.com/YWAMSanJose/form/form.php

Thank you to all of you who have already helped us get started by giving us a crockpot, dish set, toaster oven, and silverware! They have been a huge blessing! Thank also to those of you who have been offering prayers and encouragement thus far. May God use this apartment to further His kingdom and bring transformation to our hearts and those who enter it!

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5 thoughts on “Our First Home”

I’m so excited to see the wonderful home that has been placed right outside the base for you two! I know that it is already filled with love and that furnishings will follow soon! I hope we can visit soon and stay in that guest room! Much love and nice bed 😉

Oh my goodness am I so happy for the both of you! That little casita looks fabulous, and I’m so praying that it’s filled up from ceiling to floor from corner to corner and from heart to heart with the overflowing presence of God’s perfect love. Bendiciones! Praying for you. ❤